11 Apr 2012

Fiji hotelier urges caution with natural disaster reportage

1:05 pm on 11 April 2012

A Fiji resort owner is warning the media to be careful that reporting on natural disasters in the country doesn't unnecessarily turn people away.

Flooding in parts of the main island over the past couple of weeks killed at least six people, forced thousands into evacuation centres and caused millions of dollars' worth of damage.

Rachel Hachache Mishra, who owns Golden Point Resort near Rakiraki in northern Viti Levu, says flooding didn't affect small resorts such as hers.

She says her complex was fully booked for Easter weekend but because the Australian and New Zealand media made it sound like the whole of Fiji was underwater, everyone cancelled.

"We have to be a bit more cautious or careful about the negative comments that are thrown in every time there's a natural disaster because people like us that have small resorts really get badly affected sometimes when there's no need for us to be involved in all this."

The owner of Fiji's Golden Point Resort, Rachel Hachache Mishra.